On the categorial Status of -ey and -eyse

This paper is concerned with the categorial status of locative markers -ey and -eyse in Korean. With respect to the categorial status of -ey and -eyse, Seo (1996) proposes that they are of the category P. In this paper, we will argue that -ey and -eyse are not postpositions but case markers, which are licensed by the verb. We will show that -ey and -eyse are distinguished from prepositions, semantically as well as syntactically. First, unlike typical prepositions, -ey and -eyse seem to lack unique semantic content. Second, -ey and -eyse are licensed within a verb phrase but not within a noun phrase, which is against Seo's (1996) analysis of -ey and -eyse as the category P. These facts about -ey and -eyse can be accounted for in a principled manner under the analysis of them as case markers, which are licensed by the verb.